Lagunitas Olde Gnarly Wine

Brewed by Lagunitas Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Petaluma, California USA

22 oz bottle via Roth’s. Pours a clear dark reddish brown with an average sized beige head. Nose is candyish, alcoholic, with toffee. Tastes pretty close to what i got from the aroma. Starts and ends very sweet, with some dark currants, molasses, toffee, a bit of roastiness, and some pine/citrus hops. Finish and aftertaste are bittersweet, almost cloying but with just enough bitterness to offset it in the very end. Body is full, mouth-feel syrupy, carbonation is just right. An awesome barleywine, one of the best i have had.

Very nice flavor and complexity. This is an exelent brew if you like Barley Wine Style Ale.

(bottle, 2009) Clear, dark amber with wispy head. Interesting aroma is sweet and tart with notes of grape, strawberry, cherry, and pepper. Very full bodied and moderately carbonated, sticky mouth feel. Flavor made of warming alcohol, candied fruit, and pepper and other spice.

Wow. Now that is a Barley Wine. Pours a deep reddish brown with a strong beige head. Lacing is not forgotten, even with the 11% hammer that this brew can lay down on you. The aroma is where this baby really shines. Thick and doughy with notes of cherry, strawberry, and big malt sweetness not unlike a scotch ale. Someone mentioned pepper, but I get that more in the flavor. Malt forward as most barleywines are, but with a rising bitterness that melds beautifully with the long, but not cloying, salty sweet finish. I’d say pour me another, but I’d probably keel over.

A dark orange to amber appearance. The aroma is more similar to a hopped up pale ale than your standard barleywine, some grapefruits and piney. An orange and grapefruit flavor with a definite hop presence and not much alcohol showing. Overall this is very good and well balanced. In the west coast mold for sure.

A wonderful take on the style. Deep mahogony with an almost nonexistent head. Teh beer is remarkably balanced with a significant malt presence that lead to a fruity and rich flavor. A slight tang was present on the back of the mouth that really set this apart for me. Although most of my high rated BW's are over the top hopped, this was less so and if there was one criticism, could have used it bit more bittering hops. Great otherwise.

Beer snobs be damned... this shit is tasty! Don’t let any one tell you it’s "too" any thing because they’re wrong. Okay, maybe it’s too good to stop drinking. Sweet and bitter all at once with a good (but not over powering) touch of alcohol. Perfect for cold winter nights.

Pours a maroon brownish color, cloudy in appearance that leaves a thick tan head. The aroma is fresh hops, citrus, earthy spices, cinnamon, nutmeg...wow this is a fantastic nose reminds me of chai tea. The taste is just lovely, caramel malt backbone with a chocolate bittersweet bite, followed by sugared spices of nutmeg and cinnamon bark. This is a malty barleywine balanced with a fresh hop bite. This is now one of my favorite barleywines I’ve ever had. Great job Lagunitas!